Why's That?

Why's That? explores the things in Southwest Michigan – people, places, names – that spark your curiosity. We want to know what makes you wonder when you're out and about.

Maybe it's a question you've had for years, or maybe it's just come up. Perhaps it rests on a subtle observation, like this one about ABC streets in Kalamazoo. Or maybe you just saw something, found it strange, and wanted to know more about it. That's what happened in "A Tiny Park with a Tragic Story."

West Main Park is at the corner of West Main and Elm in Kalamazoo—right across from Comensoli’s Italian restaurant. You can walk across it in about 30 seconds.

Arcadia Creek runs through it. There’s a bench, a few picnic tables, and that’s about it. It’s not a quiet spot, but it’s one of the oldest parks in Kalamazoo—founded just a few years after Bronson Park downtown. It's also the oldest city-owned park.

When Steven Lange passes the marker at the edge of Vicksburg's Clark Park that summarizes the village's beginnings, the end of the text gives him pause.

“It says on October 18th, 1871 the village was incorporated as Brady. But one day later a petition passed to rename it Vicksburg. And that’s the part that was so curious. Why would you name a village any name and then one day later switch its name officially?” he asks.